A disturbing and engaging film, Children of Men is the kind of movie that stays with you long after seeing it.
While this movie has three very huge stars– and an upcoming star in Chiwetel Ejiofor– the emphasis of this film is largely placed on the grandoise stage and setting of the film. To be honest, the environment that has been crafted under Alfonso Cuarón’s direction is so enthralling that you forget about the actors. Besides the obvious similarities to Blade Runner, Children of Men also seems to share quite a bit with 28 Days Later, in that they both serve as social critiques that have been created in hyper-realistic environments that accentuate the brutality that exists in the innermost urban areas. The movie falters in two areas, however, and that is that it takes the film a good fifteen minutes to get going– which seems longer given the way the film starts. Secondly, the heavy-handed symbolism that builds layer after layer throughout the length of the film can be off-putting for many, but if you can allow yourself to be brough into the world of the film– and you’d have to make a whole-hearted conscious effort in order to pull that off– it is hard not to buy into the will of the director and absorb yourself in this wonderfully gloomy film.
Overall Rating: 100
